18th century epoxy

[freeloader]

HI I was wondering if any of you serious knife builders could point me in the right direction. I have been building knives, pouches, accessories and rifles for a few years now, and have heard of some epoxies made during the 18th century.
Here is my problem, I am building a knife, and filed too much off the bottom of the tang. It is a split shaft anter with a blade and tang fitted epoxied and pinned. The problem is I really can't take any more antler off the bottom or it would ruin the profile and make it a weird fit to the hand, so I just covered the bottom of the tang with 2 prt. epoxy and am making it as dark as possible. If they did have epoxy during the 18th century and a guy was building a serviceable knife for some one what kind of epoxy would they use? I have seen some 17th and 18th century French trade knives, and they had to knock them out pretty fast for trade knives. so the fit and finish was not all that great. Do any off you history- knife buffs of the 18th century have any words of wisdom for me?
Thanks, Mike the freeloader

 

[AeroncaTAL]

I think the only glue available in the 18th century was animal protein, or hide glue.

Period glue

Scott

 

[LaBonte]

What I believe you want is cutler's resin which is often called the cutler's epoxy of the past but really isn't anything like modern epoxy.
It is usually made of rosin/pitch, beeswax, and a filler such as finely ground charcoal, wood dust, etc. It also sometimes includes asphaltum.

The formula varies but a good one I've used for over 40 years on period work is:
5 parts rosin (brewer's pitch form James Townsend works and there are many other sources for various rosins)
1 part beeswax
1 part filler
Melt together slowly and apply while hot...

Besides hide glue the other glue used in the 18th century and before is one of several types of vegetable mucilage - i.e. flour paste aka "library paste" (at least that's what it was called when I was a kid) - water and flour mixed together - is a common glue used during the era for many things such as gluing cloth linings into leather bags or trunks.

In the case of your knife handle - a more "period" fix-it suggestion would be to make a THIN wood filler and glue it in or pour pewter to fill the gap..

 

[StevePrice2]

On the far side of the world there were a couple of glues used in this time frame as well as centuries earlier and later. I have seen, owned and handled both. Japanese cutlery in the the form of aikuchi, tanto, wakizashi, katana and tachi all used pine resin or rosin if you prefer to call it that. It was straight pine sap used hot and flowing like we use glue/epoxy and it held well the end cap furniture of knives and swords and their scabbards. Another very universally used glue for saya ( the wooden scabbard or resting place for a blade) was rice paste glue. I don't have the formulas but they could be found out I'm sure. Both held securely but were also able to be unglued as needed in repair or restorations of sword or knife furniture.

 

[Robert Egler]

From my experience rice paste glue holds a lot better than I thought it would. About like white Elmer's glue today. I don't know if it was used in North America though.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Have you thought of covering the " Oops" with a piece of rawhide, shrunk onto the handle??

Just a thought. :hmm:

 

[pichou]

Cutler's rosin is the way to go. We use brick dust in our trade knife cutler's rosin.

If you think you need modern strength, but want a period look, mix a period filler with epoxy. They come out looking pretty much the same is the rosin/beeswax formulas.

But don't think the old formulas aren't strong. A lot of old silver handled table knives have cutlers rosin, and a lot more have solder. The only way to tell (even after 100 years of use) is to put a torch to the handle. If it smells like a pine fire, it's cutler's rosin... if silver stuff flows out, it's soldered.

 

[rich pierce]

I agree with cutler's resin. I use campfire charcoal as filler, ground and pulverized finely. looks like tar patch on a birchbark canoe